Credit: The Associated Press

Nikki Nguyen poses for a photo, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, in Santa Ana, Calif. The 34-year-old law school graduate is among 12 former Thomas Jefferson students suing the university, accusing it of inflating its graduates' employment figures and salaries to attract students. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

SAN FRANCISCO — Nikki Nguyen left a $50,000-a-year job at Boeing Co. in 2006 to pursue a law degree at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, her sister's successful career as a corporate attorney providing a glimpse of the possibilities she imagined ahead of her.

Instead, she struggled for more than a year to find a job after she graduated and watched her student loan debt of over $180,000 balloon.